“200 broken windows, damage to on-board IT, broken driver’s cabin consoles”… This Monday, the SNCF filed a complaint after the discovery of five vandalized TER trains near Amiens, in Hauts-de -France, during the night from Saturday to Sunday. The carrier warns that this damage will have an impact on traffic on several lines.
“This major act of vandalism will impact the TER service, particularly on the Paris-Amiens and Paris-Compiègne-Saint-Quentin lines”, it is underlined in a press release from the SNCF, these lines being “served by high capacity trains which have been damaged.
A big tile in an already tense context
“Reductions in the composition of trains and the temporary elimination of certain connections on these major axes are inevitable”, while “the heavy repair of these trains will have an impact on the overall programming of maintenance operations” of the TERs in the region, continues the SNCF. As of Monday morning, the cost of the restoration and the duration of the impact on the network had not yet been assessed.
This incident occurs in an already very tense context between the region and the SNCF, in particular due to recurring malfunctions in the TER service. Under pressure from the regional president, Xavier Bertrand, who had even suspended payments to the carrier, the SNCF committed to improving the service, in particular by initiating a massive recruitment plan. However, the effects are slow to be felt in Hauts-de-France due to the length of training for new staff.